One of his black eyebrows arched."Afraid.Scared."He cocked his head."Otherwise known as ...chicken shit."
A gasp caught in her throat.
One corner of his mouth quirked, but his eyes were intent on her, calculating, waiting.She couldn't believe he had the nerve to call her out.Why couldn't he be one of those people who simply let things drop?But no.He was calling her on the kiss last night, calling her scared.Wonderful.
"Chicken shit.Really?"she said flatly.
He shrugged."If the feathers fit.You're embarrassed about last night.You kissed me.It happens."As though spontaneous kisses from strangers happened all the time.As though he was God's gift to women everywhere.He probably is."Now you want to avoid me.Way I see it, you can grow the pair you had last night or run scared."
Heat crept into her cheeks.Would she go to jail for hitting him?Might be worth a night in prison just to shut him up… "You don't talk like a Scot all the time."
"I'm half Scot.Raised in North Carolina.Went to college there and then in Edinburgh.Joined the U.S.military when I was twenty three.Stayed eight years.Got out six months ago.Grandfather died three weeks later and I inherited this place with my brothers.Now, back to you.We can hop in my vehicle and I can show you the estate for the glowing article you're going to write or you can turn tail and run.Which is it?"
She glared at him."I never should have kissed you."
"And I never should have liked it so much."
With that stunner, he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and sauntered off.
Then, he glanced over his shoulder with an appraising look."My ride's this way."
Lucy didn't move, she was still trying to pick her jaw up off the grass.This wasn't the rigid, slightly annoyed guy she'd met yesterday.Oh, he was definitely different.The edge was still there in droves, but now it was almost like he'd declared war on her, which was ridiculous.
He was staring at her, waiting.After everything he'd said, she couldn't run away now and prove him right.She wasn't a chicken.Lucy plastered an fake smile on her face."A tour sounds wonderful."
Chapter 6
He was losing his goddamn mind.Lucy kept derailing him.He hadn't planned on confronting her.Or offering a tour.But he'd taken one look at Dev, staring at the muddy paw prints over Lucy's spectacular breasts and his common sense went right out the window.The ponytail was killing him and all he could think about was wrapping his hand around it while kissing the daylights out of her.
Angry kissing.
Because he was furious at her.For lying.For kissing him and starting the inappropriate images and thoughts to begin with.
He should be calling her out, making demands, calling The Ambler… He should be plotting revenge, not riling her up—and taking pleasure in the flush in her cheeks and the spark in her wide eyes.
He'd known she wouldn't back down, wouldn't run away.She'd wanted to, but she hadn't.
Ian opened the passenger side door.He could feel her anger and indignation.He smiled.Yeah.He really shouldn't be enjoying this.As she swept past him and into the car, she leveled a hot glare his way.He smiled even wider.Let the games begin.
A half hour later, Ian was certain Lucy brought out the worst in him.
He'd taken the roughest, muddiest, most challenging track his Rover could navigate.Rain made the going even more of a challenge.He was having a blast, splashing through the flooded stream and climbing the steep, curvy hill toward the top where the track ended and the loch spread out below.Lucy didn't appear amused.Every time he looked over and saw her white knuckles and clenched jaw, he reminded himself of her treachery, how she was playing with his family's future, the future of Fran and Hamish, and everyone who had worked so hard to get the estate ready for her arrival.
As Ian steered around a cutback turn and crested the hill, Lucy demanded he pull over.
Hell if he was pulling over.He went to tell her so, but her ashen face and glassy eyes made him stop the vehicle.
Immediately, she bolted from the car, walked several feet away, then stopped and drew in several gulping breaths.Guilt seeped into his gut.What was he doing?He wasn't like this.He wasn't cruel.
Ian left the Rover and headed to where Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, her face tipped up to the rain.
She sensed his presence and turned."I get it, okay?You know.You figured me out.That explains earlier and this—" she made a wild gesture toward the Rover and the muddy track— "lovely tour."She laughed and faced the view once more."I'm such an idiot."
Unsure of what to say, Ian shoved his hands into his pockets.He'd had a ton to say when he overheard her talking to the real Riley Brooks, but now, seeing her so distraught, angry with herself, and most likely car sick, he had nothing.
When she turned around again, tears slipped down her cheeks.
Shit.
